. >> next, we take a tour of the uss slater with robert cross, port commissioner and author of "shepherds of the sea." the retired u.s. destroyer escort has been restored and is anchored at albany. mr. cross describes the role these boats played in winning the second world war. >> the shepherds of the sea. it's a book, basically, about destroyer escorts in world war ii and the men who sailed them. and destroyer escorts actually ended up being the most important, um, successful and valuable anti-submarine vessel in the united states fleet during world war ii. they're credited with sinking some 70 u-boats, 26 japanese submarines, and they fought in every major battle in the pacific theater. so they were a very significant force in world war ii. and what's even more remarkable to me is the people who were manning those boats. these are mostly teenagers with little or no experience on the water. um, in fact, some of them told me that the only thing they knew about boats is that the pointed end went first. so they were a remarkable group of teenagers. they were very courageous, and they were b